OCR Text |
Show 48 FIRS'f DAY-EVENING SESSION. not wish to be represented by nobody any longer. We can find sornebody that will attend to our wishes, or, if' we cannot, we can and will at least TRY to do it. Until we have done this it is folly to urge the Legislature, that can be bored and have been bored until they will hold nothing that is good. \Vhcn will the friends of their country be wise'· Gh~istian patriots and philanthropists vote for men whose hands are. sta1ned ll1 "honorable murder," and then petition the murderers to pumsh themselves ! Most absurd! Patriots and parents elect drunkards and drunkard-makers to the Legislature; record their votes with the most abandoned in society, for the most profligate; then petition drunkards, or the advocates and dependents on grog shops, to break up the very system to which they owe their power and elevation, and upon which they are dependent for their continuance! Shame on such inconsistent conduct! Let us do the only thing that can be done to 1.1rge the Legislature to protect us from the taxation, crime, and wretchedness caused by the traillc of intoxicating drinks :-withdraw ourselves from those unfriendly to our cause, and support sonnd men and true. l4. But ought not prudence to direct you?-Yes ; any measure that is contrary to sound prudence, or Christian expediency, is contrary to the dictates of sound morality. But what is prudence? \Vhere there is nothing to lose, and every thing to gain-when the object is lawful, cannot injure, and probably will do good, is it prudent to engage in it, or not? Most cer· tainly. Now what have we to lose by urging this cause at the polls? The grog~men have already, have always done it. Ollicers for being faithful in the discharge of their duty against them, have been tumed out for no other cause; while many are afraid to do their duty, fearing the same treatment. Our best men have been rejected for no better reason than that of not being grog~bruisers. The road to popular favor, to preferment and honor, is pro· scribed, unless it lead through feasts, at which wine flows, or at treats where baser drink is furnished for baser men. We have been despised and scoffed at, neglected, ridiculed. Our wishes are neither consulted nor respected. By the blessing of God, our cause has forced itself on through the burning enmity, the unyielding opposition, the foul slander, the biller revilings, and the cold contempt of its enemies; while many who make great professions of friendship for us, yet dreading that exercise of it which calls for suffer· ing and sacrifices in a cause they love, have left us to struggle without the aid of their sympathy, which is bestowed at wine parties, and over bottles of beer, amidst the plaudits of the sensualists, or those who hate us mos\ intensely. \Ve have nothing to lose. If defeated, we stand "as we were." For already we are but hewers of wood and drawers of water to political demagogues. The Egyptians are our masters. They cannot serve us worse than they have done. They have already butchered our sons-impoverisherl and made miserable our daughters. They have established a palace for drunkards, and in heavy taxes too grievous to be borne, compelled us to pay an amount of many thousand dollars yearly, to worthless vagabond loafers. They have occupied our offices-disgraced our country; they have blown up our steamboats, shipwrecked our vessels, overturned our stages and cars, filled our grave-yurds, crowded our jails, erected the gibbet and furnished the victims, fired the mob, defied the law, desecrated our holy rest, been the caterer of vice in all its most odious forms, crowded us in coaches, and steamboats, and cars, with the fretid breath of drunkards, fed the cholera, educated children in idleness, ignorance, and vice. What more can they do, than they have done? Let the gamblers, and unclean, and drunkards, and those who are their friends and abettors, conquer us, and still we ha,•e lost nothing; but we will gain much in the satisfaction of having done our AUUJa;~s O.F THOMAS 1'. JJUN'I', 49 duty, and the consciousness that we are able to makr. the effort to do it. Our de~eat may ena~le them still to rule the country with poverty, and tears, and. cnmes. But 1t will teach them that they shall never, no never, boast agam that we took sides with them, in electing men like unto themselves. But, we can succeed. ~!ready has Tennessee set the example. Massa~ chuseLts has followed tt. ):lennsylvania! the land of Penn! has it no s~rcngth? Arc there not men who l?ve the name an~ revere the memory of hun, who never swore, nor broke his word, who w1ll carry out his princi. pies? Yes~y~s. ~o ~he pol~s then, and tell it there,-there testify against thf! traffic 111 llllOXicallng: dnnks. There proclaim the tidings: Those who haYe made the nations drunk with their wine, ARE t'ALLEN! ARE FALLEN!! 15. But is.there not danger tha~ the principles you advocate will be adopt~ ed, and earned out by otlter bodzes, and for other objects ?-If they are correct they ough~ to be.. None ought ever to vote for any man who refuses to ~o wh~tever his statiOn can do, and that which must be done in hig statwn. fhe enemi~s of morality carry it out always. They are wise. \VI~at c~o they want w.1th :epresei_llatives? To do their bidding; to carry out the'r.vle\~S on ~H.legH>lative sub;ects. They will have none other, and they ~re nght. m pnnc1ple, and accountable to God for their practice. Do Bank and Ant1~bank m~n vote for those opposed to their views? Well why should we be req~ured to vote against our views and our understanding ?1 The duty of all men IS, to let tl~eir moral influence be felt, to cause it to pervade e~ery avenue, throug~' winch access may be obtained, for the promotion of VJrtue, and of tr~th. fh~t laws not only indicate public sentiment, but also have~ powerfulmfluence 111 moulding public morals, Iione will deny. If good men ~ecp aw~y from the polls, bad men will flock to them, and elect men of.th~Ir own v1ews. And what is the consequence? Let scenes in Harrisburg ;~~~h1.n so~nd of the click of the state~house bell, answer. We repeat it~ IS 111 vain to expect the e~actment of wholesome laws, anrl the executio~ of sue~ as are enacted, until men, who love virtue, cause it to be done A ~noralmfluence must be exerted at the ballot box; that is the place to begin ~nd~ to end the ~atter. \Vhatever the Legislature can do to promote the c~u~e of h~Jmamty, and of literature, ought to be done,-and whatever it a on.e can o, m.ust b~ re.quired of it. Those who do not demand that action ~~a~i~ndtly acquwsce m Its negleet, have failed of their duty. It is admitted h' 1 a men may, nay, that b<:td men have, and do act on the principle for ~;o:::~~~en~~ntend .. It is also .admitted _that danger may, nay, has accrued L d n adopting and .actmg upon 1t. For this there is but one remedy: Net goo m.e~ take. hold ?f 1t t.oo; let all enjoy the privilege. It is right. m 0 ma~ ;vit out sm agamst h1s God, his country, and himself can vote for toe~~ ~l~neo·r meas~res, ~vhich ":ill defeat his views of what is right and best and of tru;h~r wh,ch Will sustam a course opposed to his convictions of duty 16 .. But will no~ the country be ruined by such a contest 2-No Th carrymg out of this principle is th 1 h · · · · e can save the r.ountry Th .d eon Y '~ mg,. with ~od's blessing, that been most remarkable e provl ~nces of G~d, Ill relatiOn to our land, have or in giving wisdom t~ th WJJeth~r JU ~addenmg. the counsels of the mother, or in strengthc;ling the h:nd~u!f tl~~-111 te~kenmglthe.loins of the mighty, hushing the storm · wea -In awa tCI'Hng the breeze, or in with us as he has dm eve·rf stage of our country's history, God has dealt all the affusi one Will no modern nation. None can imagine that of the Lord, d~nn~~j~os~:fy at~d profusi~n of light, al.l the wonderful doings more bright pure exten . e e~pectallon of beholding some comiug glory, ' ' SlVe an per;Janent than the world has ever seen. |